She Was the One Named Sailor Moon: The Genre and Censorship of An Iconic Series

Nearing its 30th anniversary, Sailor Moon (1992) continues to capture the hearts and minds of fans worldwide. For those who watched the English version in the 90s, this story was far from the original source in many ways. I will discuss the initial censorship of Sailor Moon in regards to homosexuality, and where it falls in terms of genre, despite all of the changes over the years.

Sailor Moon is one of the most popular Japanese animated television shows (or anime) in the world. It was released in February 1992 in Japan. The show was also released in the vernacular of Australia, South Korea, the Philippines, Poland, Italy, Peru, Brazil, Sweden, Hong Kong and lastly in North America. It soon became a prominent part of otaku (anime) culture worldwide, especially in the United States. In order for its success, when the show was dubbed in English (voice over replaced with English voice actors), much of the plot and script was heavily edited ranging from whole scenes and episodes cut to changing some character’s gender.

Cutting edge for the decade, themes of homosexuality were explored both directly and indirectly in the original franchise. Two of the outer sailor scouts, Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune are a lesbian couple. However, when dubbed in English, they were made to appear as very close “cousins”. Sailor Uranus, the more masculine of the two also often flirted with Usagi (Sailor Moon). For example, in the original Japanese version, Uranus says in response to Usagi’s estrangement from her boyfriend, “…maybe I will have a chance with you. I have always been a fan of your odango (bun hairstyle)”. In the English version, this line is changed to: “Now that you and Darien are separated, maybe I can scoop him up”. Two of the main season 1 henchmen, Kunzite and Zoisite were gay lovers. As Zoisite has long blonde hair worn in a ponytail, their relationship was censored by employing a female voice actor for the character, thus making them appear to be heterosexual. A similar strategy was employed for the season 4 henchman, Fisheye who was a homosexual male who cross dressed as a female. This however was made evident to be a cover up in the English version released onto DVD where he takes his dress off to reveal a male chest. This scene was removed when shown on television in Western markets. But why?

Another controversial group of characters were the Sailor Starlights, a newly introduced group in season of sailor scouts from outside the solar system. While these characters have female bodies when fighting inter-gallactic villains (and dressed in the iconic sailor outfits), they physically change form into men to disguise in normal social settings. The unrequited romantic affections of the Starlights member, Seiya for both Princess Kakyuu and Sailor Moon, are a central story arc in this season. This and the physical gender swapping were seen as impossible to censor thus leading to the complete exclusion of the entire final (5th) season.

This heavy editing and adaptation is an example of how texts must be constructed and released to audiences taking into consideration their cultural attitudes and expectations. Japan has very different attitudes than the United States at that time in regards to the display of homosexuality within texts. In addition, in Western countries such as the United States, cartoons are made dominantly for a child audience. In Japan, many cartoons (animes) are aimed at older audiences for example, cartoons aimed at adults can contain bloody violence and mature themes and story lines. Yaoi styled cartoons display close to pornographic cartoon depictions of the characters, clearly not for children. Sailor Moon was originally made for an older teen audience. Due to the demographic of the originally intended American audience being small children in the 90s, it had to be appropriated accordingly making it, (a), understandable to children in regards to storyline and (b), “Americanising” it in regards to central thematic concerns such as a homosexuality (clearly frowned upon especially in the early 1990s). Without these culturally specific changes, the show would never have received the success it did in the form of a child’s television show.

While Sailor Moon certainly hit off originally in the West as a children’s show, it possesses many of the characteristics that would include it under the “umbrella” of the Teen Film genre classification. Despite films and shows having these qualities, they can sometimes appear to be a different genre all together. Many people see “anime” as a genre itself rather than a medium, despite coming in different genres i.e. horror, romance, sports, and action. Sailor Moon above all embodies the main aspects that define a film to be specifically "teen".

The protagonist Usagi herself is immature, disinterested in school and a well-established cry baby. When she is faced with the responsibility of becoming a protector of the Earth; a sailor scout, she first is overwhelmed and attempts to repel her duty. However, when she is needed, “she is always there to defend” and displays a profound sense of courage fuelled by the love she has for her friends, family, true love and the Earth. Throughout the anime, Usagi faces common challenges faced by teenagers. She seeks love and romance in her life (ultimately her biggest dream is to become a bride), she displays “teen angst” styled behaviour in her child-like tantrums and is at odds with her parents about her lack of performance at school and also her considerably older high school boyfriend. Despite Usagi and her friends possessing a deep bond of love, her immaturity by far outnumbers that of her pals, thus she must constantly try to maintain her relations with her peers and also prove she can fulfil her destiny. Usagi faces literal “transformations” i.e. from being Sailor Moon to Super Sailor Moon to Eternal Sailor Moon. Her increased power and growingly elaborate costumes are “rites of passage” and symbolise her becoming closer to her destined adult self: Neo-Queen Serenity, ruler of the world.

There are also many different kinds of teenage archetypes present in Sailor Moon. These are evident in each of her friends. Ami is incredibly academically focused and studies non-stop in order to maintain her perfect test score record in order to become a doctor like her mother; thus she is the “nerd” of the group. Raye is the feistiest out of the girls. She has a sharp tongue and a fiery temper. Her ultimate goal is to be an independent career woman. Despite having profound love and concern for others, Raye is the group’s “shrew”. Minako is incredibly boy crazy and unfocused on academics like Usagi. She wants to be a pop star when she grows up. She is often preoccupied with her looks as she is Sailor Venus, the protector of love and beauty thus; she is the “princess” of the group. Makoto’s dream is to be a housewife. She embraces the traditional female stereotype as she loves to cook, clean and work in the garden. However, she is the strongest and tallest out of the girls and is very quick to physically defend herself and others making her the “tomboy”.

Chibi-moon, despite being a child has many teenage styled concerns thus; her character displays a level of liminality. Technically, she is 900 years old and stuck in the body of a child. Her main dream is to have a developed woman’s body and become a true lady. Teens in teen films are often shown to attempt to hold onto childhood while their bodies continually become more “adult”. Chibi-moon appears to have the opposite problem as her mind has become adult before her body. However, teens wanting to grow up “too fast” are also present in teen film.

Therefore, while Sailor Moon was initially successful as a children’s show in the West, despite its heavy censorship and editing, and being categorised as an “Anime” under the anime sub-genre of “magic girl”, Sailor Moon is arguably an example of “teen-film”. It displays many of the main characteristics that make a film specifically “teen” such as generational conflict, peer and school related struggles, a quest for love and sexual development and most prominently, the journey through “coming of age” and establishing an adult identity.

Adam, Eva, and Lilith: the Religious Dimensions in The End of Evangelion

The End of Evangelion (1997) is riddled with mystery, religious references, and psychological explorations. According to Robert Frost, some say the world will end with fire, others with ice. In this case, will it end with robots and science, angels and demons, or a sea of primordial soup?

Hideki Anno’s Japanese animated film, The End of Evangelion (1997) presents a religiously rich solution in order to achieve physical and psychological peace for all of humanity. The protagonist, Shinji is emotionally scarred and rendered powerless due to his lack of a parental figure that will help him make his own decisions. As a result, he is only able to do what he is told, in a world where people use others as pawns to further themselves in the game of life. Even when loyalty is almost completely absent, the world is dominated by the patriarchy. Scientifically manufactured automaton figures and humanity alike are controlled and given a distinct role and purpose. When the plans of the powerful go wrong however, the spiritual ghosts within the mechanised automatons reject their masters and rush to Shinji’s aid, in order to provide motherly support to their abandoned son. Rather than taking the form of the ‘first woman’ Eve, Lilith, the woman before her who was suppressed due to her desire for gender equality with Adam, takes the reins of the narrative. Through forbidden divine intervention, she instigates the end of a doomed world and begins another, with the promise of a fresh start and second chance.

This film features as the final film in the original Evangelion franchise. The name Neon Genesis Evangelion or Shin Seiki Evangerion in Japanese, translates to ‘Gospel of a New Genesis’ (Ortega 2007, p.217) Walter Elwell in The Evangelical Dictionary of Theology defines the gospel as being “the joyous proclamation of God's redemptive activity in Christ Jesus on behalf of man enslaved by sin.” (Faith Facts 2008) The world of Evangelion however appears to be far from redemption. God and faith in him are absent thus; man still struggles and sins, in order to serve their own purposes and agendas. The title suggests that the narrative will provide a new Gospel message, which will directly deal with the current problems of this corrupt yet self-assured society. In the Evangelion universe, two organisations hold the most power over the fate of humanity. Firstly, NERV (German for ‘Nerve’), where the majority of the story takes place is a scientific-military group lead by Shinji’s estranged father, Gendo Ikari. NERV’s motto “God’s in his heaven, all’s right with the world” is a reference to the verse drama, Piper Passes (1841) by Robert Browning. In its original context, the phrase meant that if God is up in Heaven, separate from his creation, there is no need for him to intervene as everything is at peace and working in harmony as intended. In Evangelion, it takes on an ironic and anti religious connotation. In this new sense, God in his Heaven away from the Earth is what makes everything right in the world, as humans have the power of self-determination and can do, as they like, regardless of the desires of a divine entity.

While the group is co-ed and directed by two females, Captain Misato Katsuragi and head scientist, Ritsuko Ikagi, who hope to protect the world from destruction, Gendo is plotting its end in order to achieve his dream to be one with his wife, whose spirit possesses the Evangelion creature. By hiding his true motive, he is able to gain autonomous rule over all operations. While NERV headquarters on the surface is a pyramid structure, a symbol of order and of the creative power of mankind, what looms beneath threatens to undo this façade to serve individual purposes. SEELE (German for ‘Soul’) is the other powerful group that is affiliated with and also opposing NERV. This all male group of twelve older men wish to destroy humanity’s separate forms, making them into one united super-organism, for the purpose of playing God by manufacturing evolution. In contrast to NERV’s upright pyramid, the SEELE logo is an inverted pyramid, representing disorder and chaos. The purple colour emphasises their power, as it symbolises “nobility and luxury” (Morton 2016). On the left side of the triangle are three eyes and on the right side are four. In a way, the eye and the pyramid echo the Masonic ‘Eye of God’ or ‘Eye of Providence’ that often appears within an upright triangle. The fact that there are seven eyes instead of one has deeper mythical significance, as seven is considered a magical number in many cultural contexts throughout time. Specifically, “According to the Jewish and Christian Old Testament, the world was created in seven days and Noah's dove returned seven days after the Flood…but also in the Christian Bible, Satan is surrounded by the symbolism of the number 7 in the Book of Revelation.” (Crabtree 2013) Seven eyes could also literally translate as multiple god-like figures. While the men remain faceless and are almost always depicted as a set of ‘voice only’ monolith communication devices, they too are not completely united; they are separate individuals with their own hidden desires.

In the film, the religious figures in Jewish and Christian mythology, Adam, Eve and Lilith feature prominently as sources of religious power. Adam, the first man and Lilith, the first woman before Eve are the Godlike ‘angels’ with the capacity to create life on a planet. According to Kabbalistic lore, Lilith was created from the Earth as Adam was because “It is not good for man to live alone” (Genesis ref). According to the controversial and previously unattainable book: The Alphabet of Ben Sira, almost immediately, the two were locked into an argument regarding who would be on top during sexual intercourse and ultimately, who would be dominant in their relationship. Adam insisted that Lilith was meant to be subordinate to him whereas she argued “…the two of us are equal as we were both created from the earth.” (Sawyer 1996, p.139) According to the legend, Lilith grew wings and fled from the garden to the Red Sea, where she fornicated with Satan. However, an important fact to keep in mind is that ‘Samael’ is another name given to Satan. In the Jewish text, the Zohar, Samael is an angel of God, who delivers justice and punishment in the form of esoteric knowledge. When this deep knowledge is experienced, it is shocking, difficult and uncomfortable to the ego thus he is “the God of war against the ego…[who] punish[es] on behalf of God, with the permission of God” (Glorian Publishing 2015) When the three angels sent to the Red Sea by God cannot retrieve Lilith, God creates Eve from one of Adam’s ribs, who has a docile temperament and fulfils the purpose of serving him. In the Evangelion world, Eve takes the form of the ‘Evangelion’. This giant artificial being is also derived from Adam, as it is a clone of him. It is incased by a mechanised suit of armour in order to control it, and make it serve the purposes of the male organisations.

In the Christian Bible, the serpent, which seduced Eve, was the devil in disguise. Eve then went on to corrupt Adam with the forbidden Fruit of Knowledge. A Kabbalistic myth about this event is ‘The Rape of Eve’ where the serpent was at first Samuel, but then, Lilith assumed the form and gave Eve menstrual blood. This became “…the actual ‘filth and impure seed of Samael.” With this blood, Eve and all women were given the power to seduce and “compel men to act against their will…[a] persuasive ability or gift…given by Lilith through Samael.” (Hefner 2014) In this sense, what is truly frightening is the power of women, which poses a great threat to the patriarchal world. In the film, the blood of Lilith is portrayed as ‘LCL’. This liquid fills the entry plugs manned by the child pilots, making it possible for them to breathe whilst inside. Additionally, when humanity merges and becomes one being, they share the form of a sea of LCL, “the primordial soup” of life. According to Kristeva, softness, liquidity and formlessness are feminine qualities that contrast sharply with bright, dry and clear edged of forms that are deemed masculine. (Kristeva 1982) To dispel the power of the female, Lilith came to be known as a dreadful she-demon who killed babies and raped and killed men in their sleep, causing them to spill their seed. This linked her back to her origins in Babylonian demonology 4000 years ago as a “winged spirit who preyed on pregnant women and infants.” (Gaines 2016) Eve was also punished and labeled responsible for Adam’s fall. The fact that she was approached first by the serpent justified to theologians and religious scholars that women are the weaker half of mankind. Aristotle asserted that a woman is “…a malformed male, but claimed that the innate inferiority had been exacerbated by sin.” (Drury 1994, p.36) Saint Augustine, during his lifetime proclaimed that “Adam’s sin not only caused our mortality but cost us our moral freedom [and] irreversibly corrupted our experience of sexuality.”(Pagels 1988, p.26) He believed sexual desire was a punishment from God, rather than a natural way of continuing life. This is because, if man had not sinned, they would have been able to live forever in the Garden of Eden, as they had access to the Fruit of Life. These myths justified and consolidated the ideology of male dominance as a natural truth.

In order to fully control Adam and Lilith, the organisations separated their bodies from their souls. The body of Lilith is crucified in the lowest level of NERV headquarters; Terminal Dogma, while her soul exists inside Rei Ayanami, who is a clone of Yui Ikari, Shinji’s mother. The body of Adam was reduced to an embryonic state and, in the previous film was fused into Gendo’s left hand. The soul of Adam existed in the late Kaworu Nagisa, a manufactured entity like Rei. In order to instigate ‘Third Impact’, where all individual entities are fused into one, contact between Lilith and Adam had to be made. In front of the huge body of Lilith, Gendo commands Rei to initiate the project and to take him to his wife’s side. As he pushes his hand into her belly, she rejects him stating “I am not a puppet for you to control” and chooses to merge with Lilith’s body instead. Up until this moment, Rei is “…a blank doll-figure…” but reveals a nature that is truly “shocking” (Osmond 2010, p.135). Lilith, now animated, frees herself from the cross and takes the form of a giant humanoid figure with Rei’s likeness. She rises from Terminal Dogma and into the sky to help Shinji, who is already beginning to lose his ego due to the shock of new knowledge. Her refusal and choice of Shinji over Gendo fulfills Nelson’s theory that “…the automaton usually brings about the destruction of the human’s hopes and sometimes the human himself.” (Nelson 2001, p.65) Gendo and the male organisations had made the same mistake God had when he made the first humans. God “…plant[ed] the garden of Eden like a gardener (Gen. 2:15); he put[s] Adam like a toy in the garden (Gen. 2:15)” (Korpel & Moor 2014, p.126) If God had wanted us to be dolls for him to control, he should not have given us free will. This is also true for Gendo, who failed to realise Rei’s potential to choose and desire for herself, ability possible for all beings that have a soul.

In the film, there are two distinct moments that become metaphoric calls for divine intervention. Near the beginning, when the army sent by SEELE is attacking NERV headquarters with bombs, the pyramid that marks its location on ground level is directly hit and the top is separated with a horizontal crack. The pyramid is now truncated while the top part remains sitting precariously on top. While the pyramid represents the highest creative power of humanity, according to Masonic symbolism, the truncated pyramid represents unfinished work. On the American dollar bill, “the triangle, with its enclosed eye, completes the truncated pyramid… suggest[ing] that the pyramid will be completed with the aids of the all-seeing God.” (Ovason 2004, p.54) North American currency highly incorporates Mason ideology, as many of the founding fathers of the United States were Masons. Later, once Shinji’s Evangelion Unit 01 awakens and becomes self aware, a huge purple cross of light explodes from the crack, into the sky and then disintegrates. The pyramid incidentally crumbles. This symbolises that the divine entity, Lilith is not there to work together with humanity or to complete and complement their work but must destroy it completely, in order to facilitate a new beginning. In another explosion, above the Geo-Front (headquarters), the chamber of Guf forms which; according to Jewish mythology is a holding hall for the souls located in the seventh heaven. It is said that after becoming ripe, the souls grown on the Tree of Life in Paradise are kept here. (Triangulations 2014) In the film, the Guf is ‘the Egg of Lilith’ and, if she wishes, all souls can be pulled back inside of it.

A key function of the film is to debunk the fear of female power and to exemplify its significant, restorative potential. When the giant figure of Lilith, now resembling Rei rises up, the workers in headquarters are incredibly frightened. Maya Ibuki, a kindly, young network analyst screams in horror and grabs the sides of her face. Her reaction represents the enduring sense of fear that exists within people, caused by mythic tales many centuries ago. Shinji watches the being come towards him and Lilith closes her demonic black and red eyes. She opens them and reveals the human eyes of Rei. Shinji and the Evangelion scream in unison at the revelation that his friend was hiding a monstrous form. This shock causes the Eva’s core to be exposed. The Lance of Longinus penetrates the core when Shinji sees Kaworu, his dead friend in front of him in Lilith’s place and allows himself to be overcome with dream-like happiness. While the Lance of Longinus in the Christian Bible was the weapon used by a Roman soldier to check if Jesus Christ had died on the cross, in this context, it is an essential tool in the ‘Instrumentality Project’ ritual. As Shinji relaxes, he hears his mother’s voice telling him: “This Rei is your heart, she embodies your hopes and your dreams.” This is followed by Rei’s voice gently asking him: “What is it you wish for?” In this sense, Lilith becomes almost like Shinji’s personal fairy godmother that will make the world whatever he wants it to be. Following this, the shot of Shinji’s ecstatic face flows out of focus like water and with a drop of liquid, transitions into an alternate reality. Here, Shinji is confronted with his lonely, parentless childhood and Misato’s adult private life, which he finds repulsive. Asuka then provokes him angrily, demanding him to leave her alone and refusing to help him. He hears the voices of Rei, Asuka and Misato abandoning him with a variety of phrases such as “I don’t like you in that way” and “Let’s split up!” In response, Shinji chokes Asuka and metaphorically kills all humans, as being separate entities carries the threat of pain from rejection.

In response, Lilith initiates the project. The nine mass production Evas, released by SEELE take on her likeness and push their imitation Lances into their cores. They do this in quasi-orgasmic delight, and then float with their arms outstretched to the sides, so they are in the shape of a cross. This becomes a metaphor for Rei as a Christ-like saviour figure. Just as Jesus died for our sins, the Eva’s merged with Lilith are more than willing to sacrifice themselves for this ritual. While the huge humanoid sprouts wings and grasps the Guf, images of Rei crawl towards the people. They giggle, smile and take the shape of each person’s true love before causing them to dematerialize and become LCL. This directly references Jewish myth where “Lilith would laugh maniacally…[and] smile sweetly at a man before killing him.” (Leeming & Page 1994, p.113) Once he is in the world of ‘instrumentality’ where everyone is one being, Shinji is guided through a live-action vision of Tokyo where he sees building structures, crowds of anonymous people on the streets and in the movie theatre screening the film itself. Rei talks with him about the existence of dreams versus reality and allows him to understand that a world where people exist everywhere and also nowhere, “isn't right”. She reveals that this alternate world is only a dream and that he can find reality at the end of the dream. At that moment, the giant figure of Lilith begins projectile bleeding from her neck and begins to fall backwards. Shinji has a final talk with Rei and also his mother before confirming that he wants to return to human form. In order for Shinji to live independently, the mother figure must physically disappear from Shinji’s world however, the maternal bond, Yui’s soul who lives on inside Eva 01 and their memory and influence survives forever.

Lilith’s physical sacrifice results in a new hope for mankind. Both Kaworu and Rei in their human forms tell Shinji that anyone can return to human form as long as they imagine themselves within their own hearts. Humanity is given a true sense of self-determination over their own existence, as re-materialisation is only possible if each individual chooses it for himself or herself. Shinji ultimately learns that living with others is worth it even if there is the risk of getting hurt or abandoned because, alongside that, there is the never-ending hope and possibility of love and understanding. Richard Cornish in the introduction of his novel The Woman Lilith asks if Lilith was “…perhaps the first mythical figure who had to choose between the divine and the human, and chose the latter?” (Cornish 1974, p.ii), as she gave up her divinity so sexual equality could be possible. In the final scene of the film, Shinji and Asuka are lying on the beach before the sea of LCL. When Shinji looks out to the sea, Rei Ayanami, dressed in her school uniform is standing on the water, just as Jesus in the Christian New Testament had when he performed the miracle of walking on water. When he blinks, she vanishes, highlighting that she will always be spiritually present on the Earth. Shinji, who had already been back for a long time chokes Asuka when he sees her. He does this to confirm if she is really there with him and not still within instrumentality. He hopes that she will characteristically hit him or yell out but instead; she reaches up and caresses his face gently. He lets go and cries. This act of physical vulnerability equates with Asuka’s and as a result, the two share an equal level of power. Equality, especially concerning gender power has been restored; Lilith’s greatest wish and the solution to the doomed world. Feminist writer Carol Christ “…claims that worship of a male deity keeps women in a state of psychological dependence on men” (Gross 1996, p.225) thus, Lilith’s victory in the narrative can definitely be approached as a triumph of feminism in a patriarchal world.

Therefore, The End of Evangelion presents a religiously rich solution in order to achieve physical and psychological peace for all of humanity. In a world that is dominated by the patriarchy, automaton figures and humanity alike are controlled and given a distinct role and purpose. Lilith, who lives as a spiritual ghost within the mechanised automatons, provides motherly support for Shinji. She bestows on all people a second chance, by giving them control over their own fates and equalising gendered power distribution.

References

Books:

Browning, R. (2015), Piper Passes (Classic Reprint), Forgotten Books, London

Cornish, R. (1974), The Woman Lilith, The Griffin Press, South Australia

Drury, C. (1994), Women in Religion, Pinter Publishers, London, New York

Gross, R. (1996), Feminism & Religion: An Introduction, Beacon Press, Boston

Korpel, M & Moor, J. (2014), Adam, Eve, and the Devil: A New Beginning, Sheffield Phoenix Press, England

Kristeva, J. (1982), Powers of horror: an essay on abjection, Columbia University Press, New York

Leeming, D & Page, J. (1994), Goddess: Myths of the Female Divine, Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford

Nelson, V. (2001), The secret life of puppets, Harvard University Press, London

Ortega, M. (2007), Mechademia 2: networks of desire, The University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis

Osmond, A. (2010), 100 animated feature films, British Film Institute, London

Ovason, D. (2004), The Secret Symbols of the Dollar Bill: A closer look at the hidden magic and meaning of the money you use every day, HarperCollins Publishers, New York

Pagels, E. (1988), Adam, Eve, and the Serpent, Random House, New York

Sawyer, D. (1996), Women and religion in the first Christian centuries, Routledge, London, New York

Wandor, M. (1984), Gardens of Eden: Poems for Eve & Lilith, The Journeyman Press Limited, London

Online:

Crabtree, V. (2013), ‘The Mystical Number 7’, http://www.humanreligions.info/seven.html, accessed on 14/4/16

Faith Facts. (2008), ‘What is the Gospel?’, http://www.faithfacts.org/bible-101/what-is-the-gospel, accessed on 12/4/16

Gaines , J. (2016), ‘Lilith: Seductress, Heroine or Murderer?’, http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/people-in-the-bible/lilith/ , accessed on 11/3/16

Glorian Publishing. (2015), ‘The Angel Samuel’, http://www.samaelaunweor.info/identity/38-the-angel-samael.html, accessed on 20/4/16

Hefner, A. (2014), ‘Rape of Eve, The’, http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/r/rape_of_eve_the.html, accessed on 11/3/16

Morton, L.J. (2016), ‘The Meanings of Purple’, http://www.colormatters.com/the-meanings-of-colors/purple, accessed on 25/4/16

Triangulations. (2014), ‘Guf: A Jewish Soul Myth’, https://triangulations.wordpress.com/2014/01/29/guf-a-jewish-soul-myth/, accessed on 1/5/16

I'm Your Number 1 Fan: Fan Theory and Practice

The definition of a "fan" has carried many meanings over time. From Game of Thrones fans who speak fluent Dothraki, to cosplayers that can become the character they love for a day, and to the more sinister roots of the obsessive "fanatic", there is certainly more than meets the eye with fan culture.

Fan Theory is an area of study and phenomenon surrounding how people interact with media texts. This could be through passive consumption for example, by simply reading the books, and watching the films or, the person can take up a more active consumer role, for example, by dressing as characters (cosplay), writing fan fiction, creating fan art, and forming groups or clubs in order to connect with other people based on their shared devotions for particular fandoms, which could be very specific (for a particular character, or show), or wide (for a whole style of text, i.e. anime, or a fan activity, i.e. a cosplay group). Being a fan of something however is more than just casual viewership. It requires a true love of the text, and a certain level of devotion, and sacrifice. This sacrifice can be monetary, in order to buy merchandise which will help you connect with the fandom, and in the case of wearable apparel, to signal to others that you love what you love. This will also help to find people with similar interests, or to just mark yourself for the sake of self expression and/or identity formation. These texts all form part of culture, and every person experiences culture in their own way however, the fan experiences culture in a distinctive way, a way which most definitely is deserving of academic study. 

The term, ‘culture’ originated in the year 1400-50. It can be defined as being “...the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc” (Dictionary.com, 2018). This is a rather traditional definition of what culture is. Culture does not necessarily need to be high culture, the best version of what it is, or the most popular. For example, a film may not do well at the box office, but then may gain a cult following, and in this way either stay within a close knit, but highly devoted fan community, or make its way into more mainstream pop or popular culture. People consume culture by experiencing it using the five human senses, and through economic investment for example, you would buy a ticket to a film, or buy an accessory to represent a certain fashion aesthetic. Cultural consumption however is more than just buying into ideas or things. People do not simply ‘get into’ what they are told to. According to the popular culture conspiracy theorist blog site, Vigilant Citizen, “Mass media are media forms designed to reach the largest audience possible. They include television, movies, radio, newspapers, magazines, books, records, video games and the internet. Many studies have been conducted in the past century to measure the effects of mass media on the population in order to discover the best techniques to influence it. From those studies emerged the science of Communications, which is used in marketing, public relations and politics. Mass communication is a necessary tool to ensure the functionality of a large democracy; it is also a necessary tool for a dictatorship. It all depends on its usage.” (Vigilant Citizen, 2010). From their point of view, consumers do not necessarily have a free choice when it comes to investing in ideas, and products, rather that we are conditioned to agree with certain things, and to find specific things appealing or unappealing, based on a nurturing process, conducted by corporate giants that may or may not be linked with each other, the government, particular famous people, and a larger worldwide organisation. 

Conspiracies aside, this view embodies the “inoculation theory of persuasion”, developed by the social psychologist William J. McGuire in 1961 where he “suggested that attitudes could be inoculated against persuasive attacks in much the same way that one's immune system can be inoculated against viral attacks.” (Front Psychol. (2016)). Rather than injecting ideas into unbeknownst hosts, cultural consumption is “...a more complex theory about the interaction between producers and consumers – a theory that goes beyond the absolute figures of consumption in economic terms – we are neither the passive victims portrayed by the “critique of mass culture” school, nor are we the liberated consumers reported by many other authors. We are creative, active individuals, working with a range of cultural materials, and through a range of consumption practices, constructing and making sense of our everyday life” (IGI Global, 2018). The key assertion here is that culture and cultural products are used in a practical sense for people to make sense of the world around them, and most importantly, to make sense of themselves.

Fans also consume culture in order to achieve the aforementioned benefits, and do it most importantly because they can. This however does not mean that they are without prejudices, fairly and unfairly earned. While fandom can be a lot of fun for participants, the term, since its inception was surrounded with negativity. Renowned American cultural theorist and media scholar, Henry Jenkins, in the first chapter of his 1992 book, Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture effectively summarises the history of the word “fan”. “‘Fan’ is an abbreviated form of the word ‘fanatic’, which has its roots in the Latin word “fanatics.” In the most literal sense, ‘fanatics’ simply meant ‘Of or belonging to the temple, a temple servant, a devotee’, but it quickly assumed more negative connotations. ‘Of persons inspired by orgiastic rites and enthusiastic frenzy’ (Oxford Latin Dictionary). As it evolved, the term ‘fanatic’ moved from a reference to certain excessive forms of religious belief and worship to any ‘excessive and mistaken enthusiasm,’ often invoked in criticism to opposing political beliefs, and then, more generally, to madness ‘such as might result from possession by a deity or demon’.” (Jenkins, H. (1992), p. 12)

He goes on to say how a fan is problematic as liking something too much is unhealthy. This is exemplified in many films including most notably, Tony Scott’s thriller film, The Fan (1996), starring Robert De Niro as a divorced, lonely, and murderously devoted fan of a baseball player. A more recent example of a ‘fan gone crazy’ film is FANatic (2017), a Canadian TV film about a fan who works on the set of the show she is obsessed with. She will do anything to keep the show running, while the lead actress desperately wants another role than the “alien bimbo” she had played for seven years. While this film was certainly not as much of a ‘big hit’ as The Fan, it has some excellent instances of fandom that freak ‘normal’ people out. Lead crazy, Nikki (Katy Breier) speaks the alien language from the show she loves with her friends. When one of the leads actor of the show, Hunter Clay (Benjamin Arthur) asks her about it, Nikki says that “sometimes it’s just easier.” He then asks, “Then what? English?” While this is meant to be a joke, it is funny because there is certainly truth to it. While it is fine for someone to like The Lord of the Rings books and films, and the Game of Thrones books and television show, it gets a little weird when fans start speaking Elf or Dothraki right? While everyone enjoys media texts, and various forms of entertainment, whether these be in the form of people, films, television, books, and animation, when does a simple “enjoyment” become something else? Where should we draw the line and who is it that is drawing it in the first place? According to Larsen & Zubernis, “…the boundaries between theory and practice in fan studies are blurring more all the time. Previously we had theorised what fans do and why they do it, yet fan voices were often absent from the discussion, and the theory seemed to bear less and less resemblance to what fans were actually doing online, at fan gatherings, and on fan pilgrimages. Researchers described the increasing interaction between fan and producer, but often without access to the producers themselves. All this is changing. Not only are fans interacting with producers, but academics are as well. And as the scope and practices of fandom are changing, so too are the ways in which we theorize, study, and teach it” (Larsen, K. & Zubernis, L. (2012), p. 2). This is certainly evident in the case of producers and fans for example, crowdfunded projects i.e Stuart Murdoch’s indie musical, God Help the Girl was made with $121,084 from fans and people in the film community (fundraising goal $120,000), fan-fictions coming to life as their own multi million dollar franchises i.e. Fifty Shades of Grey book and film series, and public figures with verified accounts conversing and interacting with fans on Instagram, live or in the comment section in order to make content that is in demand. 

The tendency to converse with real fans in order to insure the validity of their study has also made its way into academic discourse. According to Sarah Ralph in her research of hereditary fan consumption activities, the greatest point of influence in terms of defining female power ideologically is how females converse on an everyday basis with other females. She sites the mother/daughter relationship as the literal ‘mother’ or foundation of all other relationships (Brooks, O. (2015)). This relationship, according to earlier psychoanalytic studies is not without the potential to ‘harm’, for example, if the daughter is “coddled”, their sense of identity as a separate person as well as their personal and sexual development could be stinted. In addition, Ralph also sites the idea that bad health habits, and diseases including eating disorders, and cigarette smoking can be almost directly transmitted, due to the behaviour of the parent, whilst being continually observed by their child. Her idea is that if these things can come from parents, most dominantly the mother, media habits and tastes could also be learnt and ‘passed down’. To prove these findings, and to find out other meaningful trends Ralph chooses to focus on the shared experience of female celebrities by a sample of regular, everyday mothers and daughters. 

According to her audience research, transcribed telephone calls from her participants, the role of female celebrities for their relationships vary based most largely on class, and age. For example, a mother of a 19 year old still living at home uses her daughter’s love of film stars as a means of connection, and to facilitate conversation. Another mother claimed she loved an actress ever since she saw her on Beaches, proving that her devotion, turning to shared devotion with her daughter spanned over 20 years. This is much like the idea of children getting to know old songs or classic 80s hits from their parents playing it in their cars. Many mothers and daughters saw films starring and centering on female film stars as a means to bring up topics like teen pregnancy, dating, and friendships in their real lives. Another key attribute that many people in the sample also noted as important when talking about the actor specifically is how adaptable they were to different roles. Ralph deduces this as an admiration for a woman that can do many things in their everyday lives, hence a fluid actor who can portray many styles represents a successful woman. While most of these women dismissed their celebrity talk, and film discussions as ‘fantasy’, something indulgent, apolitical, and separate from their real lives, the other things they said in their conversations highlight that these discussions are important, and more than just fluffy chatting. While many may not site the media consumption of these everyday women as politically important, they certainly are in terms of identity formation, and the adoption of ideas and attitudes towards them. 

While early work on fans were certainly negative in terms of literature and film projects i.e. The Fan, there are still films like this (i.e. FANatic), and the social conception that certain fan activities are weird, and should not exist. Mistreatment and abuse of fans for their fan activities is present in many areas of fandom and cultural interest. On November 2, 2016, Lauren Grant, an interviewer who is part of the YouTube channel, Nerd Caliber went to Anime USA 2016, made a video called “What is the Scariest Thing That Happened to You While in Cosplay? AUSA 2016 Cosplay”, where she goes around and asks cosplayers to respond to the title question. Pop culture conventions  are gathering points for people interested in many different entertainment forms and franchises. “Cosplay” is basically dress up for people of all ages, which can involve role play elements, and be either on a budget, or extremely expensive, bought or handmade, based on the caliber and tastes of the “cosplayer”. This particular convention is held yearly for those interested in “anime”, Japanese animated television shows and films. While there were some funny anecdotes in this video (consistent with the tone and style of the channel’s other videos) where cosplayers recounted their costumes breaking or tripping over and breaking someone else’s elaborate prop, there were some very upsetting responses featuring sexual abuse. Several female cosplayers recounted men who would follow them around, or touch them inappropriately when taking a picture. A few male cosplayers talked about how they would be groped by female fans of the character they were dressed as. A crossdressing man who may have been transgender talks about how someone asked “what are you?” and tried to “check” themselves. Cosplay offers a good opportunity for fans to become the character they love, no matter what age, race, size, or gender they may be. Despite this, there is still a lot of issues that participants can come across. Under this video, a user commented “COSPLAY IS NOT CONSENT”, and received 16 replies and 1.4k likes. 

While this is a powerful video, it may not reach much further than the community it inhabits. If you are getting the wrong sort of attention because of what you are wearing, why do it? The fact that the aforementioned Jenkins’ chapter is called “Get a Life” is a pretty big statement that embodies this idea. People who are outside a fandom can quite easily be ticked off by the fan’s excitement over the topic alone, without even completely disliking the object of fandom. Liking something casually is certainly the more culturally accepted media consumption activity however, are the fans really without a life? They seem pretty happy doing what they do, and that effort is not going into their hobby without enjoyment. Perhaps if Jenkins was to write a chapter on cosplay, as an extension and in the spirit of “Get a Life”, he could call it “Grow up, and get a life”. A lot of people don’t understand why adults are having fun dressing up. A possible reason behind this would be that ‘dress up’ is a kids activity, to promote imaginative play, while they are still figuring out who they are, what they like, and what they want to do when they grow up. While many adults do not exactly have the answers to these questions themselves, they are expected to know, and if not, be actively working towards making themselves employable, productive members of society. 

This idea is a very capitalist notion, as it assumes and equates ‘not working’ as ‘wasting time’ that could be better spent on earning money, and feeding back into the economy. While it is not exactly conventional, hobbies such as cosplay can be monetised. Michelle A.K.A Roxie Sweetheart, a U.K. fashion student turned entrepreneur formed her own distinctive style based on several Japanese fashion subcultures. She turned her Harajuku fandom hobby into a booming business, with the help of Barcroft TV who made a mini documentary on her story, as part of a series called Hooked on the Look. California based Instagram public figure Amber Guzman (68.2k followers), now 33 years old turned her hobby of ‘dressing dolly’ into a platform for talking about the incurable disease muscular dystrophy, which causes the progressive weakening and shrinking of muscles, causing the sufferer to eventually become paralysed. She has been living with the disease since she was 18, and by fully embracing her hobby fandoms of cosplay, makeup, and Japanese subculture lolita fashion, she has been able to gain support from her fan community, allowing her the money she needs for care i.e. a wheelchair which was crowdfunded, while also being able to raise awareness about this disease. While these cases may not be the ‘normal’ way of making a living, i.e. working nine to five at a day job, more and more people are making their hobbies into something they can live off, as well as live for, hence, if utilised correctly and with a little luck, embracing and understanding markets, no matter how ‘niche’ can certainly be profitable, as well as meaningful and inspiring in a real world sense, and on a worldwide scale.

Gender is another big component of fan theory, and also is a contributing factor to the level of respect a fan may receive. As mentioned, a fan may be despised or shunned based on their enthusiasm towards a topic, rather than the topic itself. This certainly comes into play for the ‘fangirl’. While ‘fangirl’ is often used as a derogatory term, relating to a preteen or teenage girl being interested in a topic, person, or group to the point of unsettling obsession, this cultural phenomenon can be utilised in a positive way as well. According to Cann’s sample of interviewed high school girls, who were all around the age of fourteen, from different social classes, and both from co-ed as well as girls schools, a fangirl can both be something repulsive as well as fun (Agirre, K. (2015)). In a segment of a group interview, a girl said she was a ‘Directioner’, a self professed fangirl of the former British boy band, One Direction. While the girls expressed their disdain for such devotion, and in similar instances such as for Justin Bieber, and High School Musical, the Directioner, said that “fangirling is fun”. Additionally, another girl said that her Mum fangirled after Boy George, proving the point the fangirling is an activity unrestricted in terms of age, and that this behaviour comes from her mother. An apparent trend that arose from the sample of conversations is that femininity is the main source of this feeling of negativity surrounding fangirls. Fangirling, opposed to male fandom can be seen as linked to ideas of female hysteria, and that women are interested in novel pursuits. However, through embracing the role of the ‘fangirl’, negative connotations and all, something thought of as trivial can gain ground through community involvement, and cultural investment. 

Being a fan and getting into certain fandoms can also inspire real world action, particularly amongst McEvoy-Levy sites the Harry Potter as well as The Hunger Games as texts which inspire youth to fight for peace in the real world. “Deliberately muddling fictional and non fictional worlds, their original slogan was a declaration and an invitation: ‘We are an army of fans, activists, nerd fighters, teenagers, wizards and muggles dedicated to fighting for social justice with the greatest weapon we have-- love. Join us!’ The HPA was formed in 2005 by Andrew Slack, a comedian, satirist, and activist, who was then in his late twenties and had previously worked with ‘troubled youth.’ Inspired by Rowling’s series, Slack began writing action alerts making social parallels between the world of Harry Potter and contemporary political issues.” (McEvoy-Levy, S. (2018), p.334) While one could say that these are fictional texts and not true stories, they would have no power, or appeal if they did not in some way connect and resonate with people on a personal level, or to something that is happening/has happened in the world today. Talking about horror films, Hutchinson says, “And that is what the horror film is all about - enjoyment. How else can the popularity of the genre be accounted for in an age which has spawned worse horrors, such as Belsen and Buchenwald? We need the fictional terrors that stalk the night to counteract the terrors that walk by day. It is my contention that, in fact, the films concerned with horror and science fiction give us hope of a kind; we grapple with the mysterious and by doing so bring it to our level of understanding.” (Hutchinson, T. (1974), p. 34) 

Therefore, there is certainly value in not just imaginary worlds, but in immersion into these worlds, in the form of fan activity. Fan cultures are devalued and valued for many different reasons, and these reasons change and mutate based on many factors including social media, which allows oneself to self promote and mark themselves as a fan, find other fans, consume content in relation to their fandoms and passions, create their own fan art and fiction, and interact with the producers themselves, even if it is only in the comments section. Location, time, and gender also play an important role in influencing fan activity, and how it must be studied. While Jenkins certainly pioneered the area of study in an academic space, ‘the fan’ is not a static phenomenon, it changes all of the time, and has incredible (seemingly apolitical) political power, in terms of identity formation, human thought, and idea adoption. It must be taken into account, as the number of pieces in puzzle of fandom and the fan continues to increase.

References

Agirre, K. (2015), ‘Girls and Cultural Consumption: 'Typical Girls', 'Fangirls' and the Value of Femininity’, The Politics of Being a Woman; Feminism; media and 21st Century Popular Culture, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, U.K.

Barcroft TV. (2018, May 21). ‘The Real Life Kawaii Princess| HOOKED ON THE LOOK’ [Video File]. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUuUIHsJaiM

Brooks, O. (2015), 'A Place for Talking about Female Stars': Exploring Versatility, Femininity and 'Fantasy' in Mother-Daughter Talk on Film Stars’, The Politics of Being a Woman; Feminism; media and 21st Century Popular Culture, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, U.K.

FANatic, film produced by Incendo Productions, Montreal Casting, Canada, (Lifetime, 2017), TV film, 90 mins

Front Psychol. (2016), ‘Persuading Others to Avoid Persuasion: Inoculation Theory and Resistant Health Attitudes’, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4746429/ , accessed 1/6/18

Game of Thrones, show produced by Television 360, (Warner Bros. Television Distribution, 2011-present), TV show, 7 seasons, 67 episodes 

Highsnobiety. (2016), ‘10 Crowdfunded Movies You Simply Have To See’, https://www.highsnobiety.com/2016/02/24/10-crowdfunded-movies-you-simply-have-to-see/, accessed on 1/6/18

Hutchinson, T. (1974), Horror & Fantasy in the Cinema, Studio Vista, London

Jenkins, H. (1992), Textual poachers: television fans & participatory culture, Routledge, New York, pp. 9-49.

Larsen, K. & Zubernis, L. (2012), Fan Culture: Theory/Practice, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle

McEvoy-Levy, S. (2018), Peace and Resistance in Youth Cultures: Reading the Politics of Peacebuilding From Harry Potter to The Hunger Games, Palgrave Macmillan, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Nerd Caliber. (2016, November 2). ‘What is the Scariest Thing That Happened to You in Cosplay? AUSA 2016 Cosplay’[Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CmLmbQFkiA&t=4s

The Doctors. (2016, Jan 11). ‘Why Woman with Debilitating Disorder Lives Life as a Doll’ [Video File]. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfgZNCq2h-o

The Doctors. (2016, Jan 11). ‘Woman with Debilitating Condition Shares How Others React to Her’ [Video File]. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=op2bKP6M38Q

The Fan, film produced by Wendy Finerman, Mandalay Entertainment, Scott Free Productions, United States, (TriStar Pictures, 1995), motion picture, 116 mins

The Lord of the Rings, film produced by Incendo Productions, Montreal Casting, Canada, (Lifetime, 2017), TV film, 90 mins

Vigilant Citizen (2010), ‘Mind Control Theories and Techniques used by Mass Media’, https://vigilantcitizen.com/vigilantreport/mind-control-theories-and-techniques-used-by-mass-media/ , accessed on 20/5/18

Wikipedia, (2018), ‘Fifty Shades (film series)’, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifty_Shades_(film_series) , accessed 22/5/18

Wikipedia, (2018), ‘Fifty Shades (novel series)’, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifty_Shades_(novel_series) , accessed 22/5/18